Freeze Frame
by EveryNever
Summary: Mannen comes to realize just how precious those moments truly are. The waning light of a dying sunset can be more potent than the midday sun. Oneshot past fic.


Summary: Mannen comes to realize just how precious those moments truly are. The waning light of a dying sunset can be more potent than the midday sun. One-shot past fic.

Genre: It's angst time, my pretties! There's also a bit of action/adventure and a dash of comedy thrown in for good measure.

Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and mature themes.

Pairings: None.

Disclaimer: "The want of a thing is perplexing enough, but the possession of it is intolerable." - John Vanbrugh

A/N: This takes place about sixteen years before Himeno becomes Pretear; around the time after Takako had recently transformed into Fenril and is my take on how that monumental battle to seal her away might have gone. This means that Hajime, Mannen and Shin are still their older predecessors (around their early to mid twenties), so their personalities will be _very_ different. Hayate, Sasame, Goh, and Kei will be slightly younger (mid to late teen years), and slightly less mature because of this as well. Keep that in mind as you read on…

**Freeze Frame**

_ "For hope is but the dream of those that wake."  
-Matthew Prior_

It was finally time. He knew that.

The only problem was that he knew that fact all _too_ well.

Inevitability had become a living being in itself. It hid amongst the shadows during the day, cackling and taunting him from afar, watching, waiting for when night would come. Every time, the shackles that bound the being disappeared with the sun, and during those darkened hours that sadistic demon grew braver, slithering over to his bedside, hissing into his ear promises of death and destruction through bloodthirsty jaws, leaving the tainted words to rot in his mind and invade his dreams with the cruelest of nightmares.

It wasn't just him. He knew that too.

Everyone seemed to be breaking in their own way, some more or less than others.

Sasame and Hajime were smiling just a little too hard. Kei barely looks up from his computer nowadays. Shin now takes care of his little garden in Leafeania fulltime, even going so far as to bring a few blankets and lay them next to his Hydrangea so even sleep wouldn't take him away from his work. Goh, through his need to make a difference, recently began to put himself through intensive combat training, driving his body to the limit from the moment he woke, to the moment he collapsed from exhaustion every night. Hayate had nearly disappeared altogether, only showing his solemn face wreathed in regret when another demon larva was spotted.

It was one of those things that just didn't end well, no matter how you went about it. He hated that he knew that.

But, the fact was, he did.

* * *

The stagnant air had an extra chill to it. This was the type of weather that would eventually freeze even the Knight of Ice to the bone. 

Mannen let out a long, visible breath as he buttoned up his jacket.

"So, even you get cold sometimes," a teasing voice effortlessly broke the silence. "Or maybe you're having… dare I say… second thoughts?"

"Don't you have anything better to do than analyze my every move?"

Turning to glare at Hajime, Mannen found himself unsure of whether he was more irritated at the object of his glare, or that damn weatherman who had recently told the world it would be thirty degrees warmer than it currently was. If these were Fall temperatures, he had a feeling he wasn't going to make it through Winter.

"It's been two hours, Mannen. We've been waiting in the middle of the park for _two _straight hours. Doing nothing for that long of a time is enough to drive a guy crazy, I tell ya! I _need _someone talk to and I wouldn't peg that bench over there as much of a conversationalist, so you'll have to do."

"Suck it up and wait. We have a job to do, remember?"

"Easy for you to say, Mr. Frosty! You might think you're cold, but you have no idea," Hajime whined, and, as if to prove his point, began hopping from one foot to another and stashed his hands as far into the pockets of his khaki pants as he could in his little attempt to stave off the biting chill in air.

Seeing a grown man bounce around like a two year old on a sugar high _was_ pretty comical, and Mannen attempted unsuccessfully to smother a rogue chuckle that threatened to break the uniformity of his rigid expression.

"What!" Hajime raised an eyebrow at his friend in mid-hop. "You find my pain funny, do you?"

_Hilarious actually. _"Sorry to disappoint you, but I was just wondering to myself how you can willingly act like that in public."

"As they say, desperate times call for desperate measures," Hajime sighed dramatically. "And I might have to keep this up all night 'cause it seems like she's not showing up. I bet Kei messed up in his calculations somewhere."

"If Kei were here right now, you'd certainly be put out of your misery," hinted Mannen as he slid a finger across his throat in a swift, mock cut. "I trust our computer whiz and his brains, and so should you. She'll be here… as long as you're patient enough to wait her out."

"What is the 'patient' thing of which you speak?" Hajime questioned in feigned confusion. "I don't believe I have ever heard of such a thing."

"Fine," Mannen surrendered reluctantly. "If you need something to talk about, we can go over the plan one last time."

"Agh! Is that all you can think about?"

"We have to focus and do this thing right. You know what will happen if we fail."

"Of course." Nodding, Hajime counted the items off on his fingers. "We'll have failed Takako, she'll realize this, and will transform from Fenril, into a sex-crazed stripper who wanders the streets looking for the approval and love through temporary pleasure. Shin will be hospitalized with an ulcer because the stress of dealing with utter failures like us just became too overwhelming and he'll slowly be driven insane as the hospital personnel continue to deny him the ability to water his plants, for they would deem the _activity_ too stressful for his current state of mind. Then, the Earth would start spinning in the opposite direction, causing the seasons to-"

There it was; the one and only thing worse than being impaled with and frozen by one of Mannen's ice attacks. The Ice Knight had pinned Hajime with his infamous, frosty stare.

"Okay!" The Knight of Water cringed. "So the world would end and blah, close enough. Is it a crime to try and lighten things up a little?"

"In a situation like this, yes it would be."

"Sue me then!" Hajime countered playfully. "Just remember you'll be loosing the best damn decoy for this operation that ever spilled wine on Kei's best dress shirt and lived to tell about it!"

"Ah, I remember that." Mannen smirked softly. "Kei was even trying to stab you with his spoon. I'm surprised you managed to survive, actually."

"Eheh…" Hajime shuddered slightly. "Good times, no?"

"Good times," echoed Mannen a bit wistfully. After a drawn-out swallow, he continued, his voice hardened once again. "Well, at least I know you're somewhat serious about this. If the both of us can manage to distract Fenril long enough, hopefully Shin will be able to channel enough of his and the remaining Knights' power to seal her away permanently before she notices what we're up to."

"If I know those four, which I, Hajime the Magnificent, definitely do, one of them _coughHotheadedHayatecough_ will turn it into a competition of who can give Shin the most Leafe the fastest without dying on the spot!" The Water Knight chuckled lightly, reassuringly, his desperation almost completely smothered by a rehearsed optimism. "Shin will have all the stuff he needs in no time. All we have to do is get the attention away from him by letting Takako beat the crap out of us for a bit, which I'm sure she would _love _to do. I'll get the-"

Suddenly, Mannen delivered a swift kick to Hajime's shin, causing the man to yelp softly in surprise.

"Why the hell'd ya do that!" The offended frowned at the offender with an indignant expression as he kneeled to baby the dented leg.

Crouching down beside Hajime, Mannen swiftly grabbed the wrist of the stunned Knight and unceremoniously dragged him behind the nearby bench.

"What the-"

"Just shut up and look!" Mannen hissed softly, his voice filled with urgency.

Seeming to catch his tone, Hajime peeked somewhat hesitantly through the slats of the wooden bench. In seconds, his mouth thinned to a grim line.

"Oh," was his only reply.

Mannen didn't respond to that. There were just some things out there that words couldn't really give justice to. This time was one of them. Instead, he busied himself by watching the scene unfold through the spaces between the wood.

To the untrained eye, the park would have looked completely normal. For most, if not all of its existence up to this point, this piece of grass-infested land must have been as regular as they come.

Youngsters would have visited the rusty swings and slide every morning, afternoon, and evening, claiming and ruling imaginary kingdoms of epic proportions that never end, yet never really begin. The night would bring mystery, maturity that would attract older visitors, most paired off underneath the shadows of the aging trees, others alone with thoughts as hard as their steps, as soft as their tears.

It wouldn't exactly be the same kind of park by morning, if it could even still be considered a park by then. Mannen wondered how many would miss this place, and how many wouldn't even give its brutal transformation a second thought.

He sensed the change in the air, a slight absence of what had always been. Now, the silence had begun to grow deeper as the chilling breeze stilled and the leaves hung limp, helpless, on their branches.

Two glances turned upward as the streetlight above them flickered slightly, neither noticing as one of the lights on the other side of the park went completely out. Seconds later, Mannen turned to see the night surround a weakening glow a little over to his right. Hajime sucked in a small breath as two lights over to his left disappeared instantaneously. Then, in no particular order, the sixteen remaining streetlights that encircled the area faded quickly into darkness.

Only one light remained, blinking wildly over the heads of the two Leafe Knights. With one final, desperate flash, the bulb inside the lamp shattered, showering glass onto the empty bench and ground. The two Knights quickly dodged the glistening knives, transforming into their more powerful, battle ready selves, before splitting up to take cover on separate sides of the park.

Mannen immediately bent into a solid defensive stance, his back to the tree he hid behind as his only shield. With intense eyes darting every which way, he forced his vision to adjust to this new shade of black and soon found his target gliding effortlessly through the foliage. Locking gazes with Hajime a good few yards off to his side, he mouthed the words of conformation, watching just long enough to see the Water Knight nod somewhat robotically in reply.

Only a couple seconds of patience were needed before space itself was sliced clean through, separating this area from the rest of the world by much more than distance. Clenching his teeth tightly, Mannen held in a treacherous shudder that threatened to creep down his spine.

It was nothing personal, but he had never liked Hajime's barrier in the least.

Not only was it nowhere near as efficient or impenetrable as Shin's had grown to become, but it also looked so eerie, almost otherworldly, surrounding the battlefield as it did. Stretching, dipping, swirling, convulsing, the dome of rushing water appeared to hold a life of its own, emanating a pale, shadowed glow from within.

'_I,'_ it seemed to say, '_am the one you should be worrying about.'_

There was no helping it though. Shin needed to conserve his energy for his own part in the mission and Hajime was the only other one among the seven of them that had mastered the ability of producing a barrier. The innocents needed to be protected from battles like these and he'd be damned if this wasn't the best protection he could give them.

Startled out of his staring contest with the barrier by a sudden movement from above, Mannen was caught at unawares by his new foe. Before he could even begin to reorient himself, the object distanced itself from him, still on the descent, before finally settling on a flat patch of ground a couple feet away.

This was not something his pride would let him live down. If any of the others got wind of this…

A leaf. He had thought he was going to be KO'd by a damn leaf. This was worse than pathetic. His senses were sure out of whack because he could have sworn he had just felt a malevolent presence in that harmless, little thing.

With a hmph of indignation and a smart flick of his wrist, the leaf was cleaved neatly in half by a miniature, razor sharp spear of ice.

Let that be a lesson to all plants of every shape, size, and phylum. No one messes with Frosty.

Focusing his attention back on the task at hand, he began to notice something strange. Sure, it was normal to have leaves falling off the trees in the middle of fall; actually it would be rather abnormal if they weren't. But all the leaves falling from every single tree all at once? Not so ordinary.

Shielding himself from the sudden downpour of plant life by fixing his cape into a makeshift umbrella, Mannen took only a moment to sense that almost all the Leafe around the area had vanished.

He smiled darkly with realization and called out to the night, "Have a nice snack, Fenril?"

"It was quite delicious, thank you for asking, Mannen," the voice absently replied a far distance behind him, and, realizing this, the Ice Knight swiftly dashed through the trees in the direction of the sound, finding himself in a large clearing. "I also thought the aftereffects would make such a fitting setting for the both of your graves, would it not?"

A slender hand materialized out of the gloom, motioning to a ground now covered with a deadened brown carpet of fallen plants, devoid of the life that once gave the place its quaint charm. The hand moved forward, followed by an arm, then a body, completing the figure once known as the giver of light, now known as the spreader of darkness.

"It's been a while, Takako."

"It has been so long since I last saw you, much too long," Fenril spoke softly, patronizingly, as she stepped toward the Ice Knight. "You should have brought the others with you to come and visit me every once and a while. We could have had _such _fun."

Mannen quickly formed another ice spear, this one far larger and sharper than the last, and gripped it tightly with his hands as he backed away from her advances, attempting to predict her next move.

"You know I would have gone to see you, but I don't exactly mix with that new crowd you've been hanging around lately. I didn't want to cause any unnecessary _problems_."

"Oh, how _considerate _of you!" Fenril sneered as she glided over a protruding root with effortless grace. "But there wouldn't have been any problems so you needn't have worried about my new _friends_. _Most_ of them don't bite _too_ often."

"Really?" Mannen expertly maneuvered himself around a few trees as he propelled himself backwards, still trying to judge his opponent. "That's so comforting, Takako."

"I thought it would be." With her last words, Fenril planted her feet and raised her arms skyward. "Now, let me introduce you to a few of my friends, I'm positive you'll get along wonderfully."

A burst of water from her left caused Takako to loose concentration as she was forced to jump out of the way of the gushing liquid.

"Sorry, but first impressions aren't exactly my thing. I don't want to unintentionally tick someone off, so I suggest you keep this lovely meeting between the three of us, Takako sweetie." Hajime winked flirtatiously at his irritated enemy as he swung his feet lazily from his chair/tree branch high above her before turning to his unemotional ally. "Miss me, Mannen?"

"Like the plague."

"Well, don't I feel appreciated!"

"As much as I hate to break up this lover's quarrel…"

"Don't get me wrong, Takako baby!" The Water Knight quickly interrupted Fenril, waving his arms frantically as he jumped down from the branch. "I'm all for woman through and through! Show me those curves and I'll eat them up for dinner! Give me a kiss with those luscious feminine lips and I'll sell you my soul!"

"Yeah, and you have the dirty magazines under your bed to prove it." Mannen unfurled an evil grin that could have rivaled some of Fenril's.

"You discovered my secret!" Hajime gasped in mock terror. "I'm sorry you had to find out the truth from the shiny paper and sexy pictures instead of from me, but it is a fact that my lust lies with the better half of humanity that have those boobs and asses like wouldn't believe! You'll forgive me, won't you?"

"Oh, I'll live, trust me."

"You two must take me for a fool," Takako broke in, arms folded, eyes glinting menacingly. "Did you really think that that idiotic banter of yours would distract me from noticing as the both of you surrounded me?"

The two Knights turned to Fenril from the advantageous offensive positions they had recently gained on either side of her.

"I think we've been found out," Hajime grinned cockily, never taking his eyes off Takako as he spoke. "You weren't dramatic enough, Mannen!"

"Sue me," the Ice Knight kept his gaze trained on the currently stationary Fenril as well when he replied.

"Ooo, clever! I like it! Where'd you get that positively brilliant comeback from?"

"Take your ego down a couple thousand notches, would you? I didn't even know we were supposed to be dramatic. I was just acting normal."

"Wait…" Hajime blanched and gaped openly at Mannen. "You mean you really know about those mags under my…"

"You're not the only one who has cleaning duty, you idiot."

"Oh, shit! Did you tell Shin? If he finds out he's going to give me one of his holier-than-thou lectures on abstinence and _containing urges_ that has me unsure on whether he's talking about dieting or sex halfway through it! You didn't tell him, did you!"

"Of course not. Why would I waste perfectly good blackmail?"

"Oh!" The Water Knight brightened visibly before the whole meaning of the statement hit him. "Oh, hell…"

"Silence!" Takako's angered command carried over the battlefield, echoing through the trees before fading away into the naked branches. "Your vulgar conversation is beginning to bore me. Prepare yourselves, Leafe Knights!"

Realizing they had pushed her far enough, Mannen silenced the sulking Hajime with a look. He then twirled his ice spear once in his hand, experimentally, before pointing its tip toward a seething Fenril.

"I was going to save my trump card and toy with you both for a while, but you have tried my patience long enough!" Taking a deep, calming breath, Takako held herself tall as she smirked maliciously at the Water Knight. "You, Hajime, will carry out the ultimate betrayal by being the one to cause Mannen's death!"

"That would never happen!" Hajime took an unconscious step towards Mannen, his two orange lengths of hair swaying in unison with his movement.

"Oh, but you've already set the ball in motion, Hajime. You can't stop it now."

"Lies!" The Knight of Water was getting worried, looking at the chuckling Takako before switching over to an unreadable Mannen, then back to Takako again.

"Don't let her get under your skin," Mannen called out to the perturbed Knight when he noticed his unease. "Trust yourself."

"Right!" Hajime let the Ice Knight's encouragement sink in, regaining some of his composure. "I'd never hurt you."

"Let's test the validity of that statement, shall we?"

Takako's chuckle transformed into a full-blown laugh, as she widened her arms in a grandiose gesture. When she threw back her head, throwing her laughter to the space above them, Mannen couldn't help but notice how animalistic she looked. The material on her sleeves hung down from her arms like silken wings and her long, raven hair draped over her back like a majestic, feathery plume. Her body shook with the reverberations of her glee, ruffling her flowing dress like a soft breeze, giving her the appearance of flying.

Just as Mannen began to step forward to attack, Takako stilled her body and snapped both of her fingers in perfect unison. The sound that snap made seemed to only grow in volume as it diffused through the air, surrounding the park in a bubble of sound. It continued to increase in intensity until the noise was almost deafening, causing one Knight to wince sharply and the other to cover his ears in agony.

The sound cut off in an instant, leaving a heavy silence in its stead.

"What… the hell?" Hajime surprised himself by finding it in him to form an actual sentence.

"Patience," was all his foe said in reply.

The Knight of Ice would have found it a lot easier to be patient if he knew what the heck he was being patient for. He choked his icy weapon and let his eyes wander as far as they could throughout the dusky light, searching for whatever threat might soon appear. Almost guiltily, a part of him kept a close watch on the Knight of Water, looking out for any strange actions or movements from his friend.

He just wished he had the slightest idea of what was going on. A message spelled out in the leaves, or a nice, big, glowing neon sign noting the upcoming event might do the trick. Unfortunately, neither leaves nor neon appeared to him with any sort helpful hint that he could see, which only made Mannen come to the unhelpful conclusion that he was just unlucky that way.

Growing thick and warm, the air crackled softly with electricity as the breeze made a sudden comeback, shuffling the wilted leaves around in a ghostly dance. The night sky above had become quite discomforting as well, turning a vile shade of pure black.

Only, there were two things here that didn't quite make sense. For one, it didn't seem possible that he was still able to see because there was now no source of light to help him out in that area. And for two, well… there wasn't supposed to even be a sky to see from where he was.

"Where's the barrier, Hajime?"

"It's… still there," said the Water Knight in a tight-lipped reply. "Look closely and you'll see it."

Mannen focused his gaze upwards again, almost dreading what he might find. Squinting at the darkness above, he realized there wasn't a star to be seen up there, and when he stared hard enough, he could almost see slight waves and ripples marring the calm of its surface.

So, that's what she did. Clever bitch.

"It's tainted, Mannen. The Leafe around us… I can't control it anymore."

"I know."

Glancing at Hajime, the Knight of Ice found him looking truly scared for the first time this night. Having your own defenses turned against you is pretty foul play, but in a game like this, there are no rules, no referees. He who stays alive wins. He who doesn't loses everything, simple as that. Disturbingly enough, if Shin didn't find the strength to seal away Fenril soon, there wasn't much of a chance of them winning.

"Magnificent. Just marvelous," Takako murmured to the heavens in an almost trancelike state. "When a creature of the light is able to be swayed toward the darkness, it gains a seductive allure… of a temptress, or a siren perhaps. Like a rose, it pierces the fingers of those that dare to try and contain its beauty, shining the brightest on its own."

"Give me back my barrier!" Hajime frantically called upon childish tactics. "It's my Leafe, not yours! You can't have it!"

Settling a piercing gaze on the one who had dared to interrupt her thoughts, Fenril spoke, "Leafe controlled by weak masters is the easiest to manipulate. All it took was a little push from me to compel it into joining my cause. It was almost pathetic how the Leafe seemed so eager to go against the will of its current keeper."

Completely drained by her cruel words, the Knight of Water sank to the ground in despairing realization.

"It's my fault…" he uttered brokenly.

The deed was done. Mannen could just see Takako crossing the item off on her mental To Do List: Destroy Hajime's mental stability… check. Turn the odds in my favor… check. Kill the Leafe Knights and destroy the world… just about there.

"That was low, Takako. Even for you," he spat out in contempt.

"Excuse the cliché, Mannen, but you've only seen the tip of the iceberg. My brutality runs far deeper than barbed insults. Let me show you just a sample of what I am capable of."

Without giving him time to think, Fenril drew back an arm, sending it straight out behind her, before roughly swinging it forward, one outstretched finger pointed straight at Mannen. The seemingly harmless gesture did little more than slightly startle the Knight. What came next, however, turned out to be a bit more effective. A distant rumbling sound was the only warning he received before a condensed mass of shadowed water shot through the trees, missing his head only by centimeters.

"Oh, I should have warned you." Takako feigned guilt. "Now that your precious barrier is under new ownership it can pack a bit more of a punch. Watch out or you might just end up dead," she teased him mercilessly.

"I'll keep that in mind." Mannen stared her down with everything he had. This was one battle he couldn't afford to lose.

"Well, then. Shall we?"

It was more of a statement than a question, one he deemed unworthy of answering. Even so, she must have found the reply she was looking for somewhere in his defiant expression, for her eyes held a trace, just a miniscule trace, mind you, of admiration as she raised both of her arms in preparation.

This time, however, Mannen was ready for the twin bullets of concentrated liquid that came on either side of him, deflecting one with his spear, while quickly dodging the other. Seeing this, Takako seemed to decide it was time to get serious. Waving her hands like the expert conductor of a massive orchestra, she guided the barrier to attack the Knight continuously from every which way.

Sprinting out of the clearing, Mannen attempted to take cover in cluster of trees nearby, only to discover the force behind the water was far more than enough to rip the thick trunks neatly in half. Gaining a deep gash on his right shoulder from this discovery, the Ice Knight was quickly starting to realize he was running out of options, as well as places to hide.

The only good point he could find in this completely crappy situation was the knowledge that as long as this kept up, no harm would come to Hajime or the other Knights. Shin and the others were in Leafeania making the necessary preparations to seal Fenril away and Hajime was immune to the attacks made by the barrier since each Knight can easily absorb any Leafe infused with their individual element, tainted or not. So, as long as this freakish game of tag he and Takako were playing continued, no one would be in danger but him. Yeah, it was comforting in a rather disturbing sort of way.

"Why must you try so hard?" Takako's distant voice reached the ears of the determined Knight. "All your extra effort will do is slightly delay the inevitable."

No. The finale he knew she had in mind wasn't the inevitable ending just yet. There _was_ hope, only a sliver of it, but that was enough for him to keep on fighting in this downhill battle. He still had too much to lose if he gave up now; too much in his life he had yet to gain.

This Ice Knight hadn't survived these twenty-four long years of Knighthood with only dumb luck and a bucketful of Leafe. There was more than one trick he still had up his sleeve that he certainly wouldn't hesitate to use at any opportune moment and now seemed to be as good a time as any. If he could manage to pull off some miracle that got the barrier back in Hajime's hands again he might gain some more invaluable time for them both.

Ducking below another watery missile, Mannen formed a fine-pointed length of ice in his left hand to complement the one still in his right. Twin blades ready and waiting, he charged back to where he had fled, once again entering the large clearing.

Upon seeing his arrival, Takako was able to aim at her target with quite a bit more accuracy. Almost instantly, six fast-moving shots came barreling straight toward him.

With surprising ease, Mannen used his natural born agility and strength combined with his two sturdy weapons to easily deflect the oncoming blasts. As quickly as he could, the Knight made his way toward Takako, who continued to send her attacks at him with a noticeably growing unease. Feeling a sly sense of satisfaction, he realized he was proving to be more of a challenge than she had given him credit for. No one should underestimate the abilities of a Leafe Knight without being ready to pay the hefty price that came along with such a shit of a mistake like that, just like Miss Fenril here was about to learn firsthand.

After knocking away one last liquid threat, Mannen leapt into the air, only a few feet from Takako, preparing to send her straight to La La Land with one efficient smack to the head. Only, he was too busy perfecting his offense to notice the fear creeping into her expression, the desperate glint in her eyes as she saw his intentions as well as his favorable chances of carrying out that goal. Neither did he notice the strangely large amount of tainted water that was seeping out of the soil beneath him, silently condensing into a hardened shape under the protective shadows of deadened grass.

Then it hit him. Literally.

Just like that he was flying, driven upwards by the force of its impact, only spared a second to glance at Fenril's smug expression of victory before it passed him by.

It was strange. At first, it was almost surreal, like it was all dream; one of those horrible dreams where you wake up only a second away from death, shaking, confused, afraid, but still safe. It didn't happen this time though, and when his nerve cells finally kicked in sending the excruciating pain coursing through his body, Mannen realized he never was going to wake up when he wasn't even dreaming in the first place.

Colliding solidly with an oncoming tree a good ten feet from its bottom, Mannen felt his joints scream in agony as they were sent every which way from the sudden stop. They were on fire. He _was_ fire. He was supposed to be the Knight of Ice, but he was melting. He was melting, dammit!

Fenril's words had been true. _Damn her._ Hajime was going to be the one who'd kill him, in a way. _Damn him. _Almost as if the Knight of Water had stabbed him himself, the sharp sword of water that had him pinned to the tree by his stomach was coursing with his darkened Leafe. _Damn Leafe. _

_Damn it all!_

Ignoring the avid protests of his limbs, Mannen's mind flew into a panic. Like a pinned spider he flung his arms and legs around wildly, trying to set himself free somehow. His captor would have none of that though. The weapon had imbedded itself deeply into the body of the tree, stubbornly refusing to move an inch.

After a minute or two of struggling, the Knight stilled himself, dropping the spears he had almost forgotten he had from both of his trembling hands. Now that he was actually thinking straight, he knew he had to conserve whatever strength he had left for the unlikely chance of rescue. Hajime wasn't dead; he knew that from the condition of the object jabbing through him. Even though it held him here in this state, blood pouring over him from the open wound it had created; that was all it did. The sharp edges didn't cut into him anymore than they already had. This meant they were being held back by something and Fenril wasn't usually the type to _contain _herself.

"Oh, there you are, Mannen! I almost thought you might have died before I found you. I'm _so_ glad you didn't. Now I can say good-bye."

Maybe if he ignored it, the cruel voice would go away. Maybe the owner of the voice might find it in herself to a have the _tiniest_ bit of compassion and leave him alone in what might possibly be his final moments. It wasn't like he was going to cause her any more trouble, no matter how much he wanted to at the moment.

"Why are you ignoring me?" Her venomous words were spoken right behind him. "I think I'd be hurt if I found it in me to care."

She chuckled into his hair, massaging his limp shoulders, making bloody scratches as she dug her nails through the thin material into his pale skin.

"I always thought you were the best looking Knight," she whispered mockingly into his ear. "It's such a shame that you don't have the personality to go along with that delicious body of yours."

Mannen managed a weak growl. "Get the hell away from me, Takako."

"Now what would be the fun in that?" She gave an empty laugh and brought her arms around him in a chilling hug, her fingers tracing the jagged line where the watery sword and raw skin met in a convoluted mass of Leafe. "I'm just giving back what you and all the other Knights gave to me. Why shouldn't I return the favor to my _precious _family?"

He could barely find the strength to breathe, let alone speak, so he reluctantly resigned himself to her embrace, frustration boiling inside him.

"Oh, you look so angry, my dear Ice Knight. Is there something wrong?" She tightened her hold on him, causing Mannen to gasp with pain. Fenril smirked through her words. "I'm feeling so generous today that I could give you a special present to make you feel better. Why don't I make you into one of my demon servants? That way you could serve me forever, and you would never have to worry about things like those fickle human emotions ever again." She trailed her hands up to his chest, letting her corrupted Leafe seep into his heart. "Aren't I so kind, offering you something like that?"

Too weak to stop it, his body hungrily ate up the evilness it was offered, beginning to rebuild itself on her wicked terms.

"Fenril! I won't tell you again… Stay. Away. From. Mannen."

The Ice Knight's glazed vision cleared somewhat as he was suddenly freed from the forceful embrace and was able to dully register a pained screech from somewhere behind him.

"Impudence! You shall pay for that with your life, Knight of Water!"

"Don't worry about me, buddy! Just stay alive till I get back!" An awkwardly cheerful voice called up to the Knight before leaving him to silence.

Hanging like a broken rag doll, molded against the rough bark that crushed into him, Mannen found he was alone to face not one, but two battles that raged inside him; the battle for survival, and the battle for his sanity. His blood continued to leave him as the dark Leafe rushed throughout him, making his struggles more impossible by the minute. Never before had he felt this helpless.

And, as he balanced precariously on the fraying tightrope that was all that was left of his crumbling consciousness, he began to remember…

.-.-.-.

.-.-.-.

"_Hey! Hey! Mannen! MANNEN!"_

"_I heard you the first time, so calm down."_

"_It happened! It finally happened!"_

"…"

"_Hey! Aren't you going to guess what's so great?"_

"_When you could just as easily tell me? Nope, not a chance."_

"_Hmph. You're no fun, but if you must know… I just got hired for my first job!"_

"_Now that **is **something. Welcome to society, Goh."_

"_Glad to be here!"_

"_So, what is it?"_

"_What is what?"_

"_Your job. What else?"_

_"Oh… eh heh… right. Well, as of tomorrow afternoon, I'm a waiter!"_

.-.-.-.

.-.-.-.

"_Why are you standing out in the rain like an idiot?"_

"_If this is what it feels like to be an idiot, I sure feel sorry for those smart people out there."_

"_Cut the crap and go to sleep. You never know when our next battle will be, so you have to stay energized and alert."_

"_My, haven't you become the dedicated leader."_

"_Duty called, I answered."_

"_It's a darn shame. I miss your smile."_

"_What?"_

"_Come outside and join me. The rain is just so refreshing."_

"_Of course it is, Hajime, you know you're the one who controls water."_

"_Freeze the puddles around you if it makes you more comfortable."_

"_Has anyone ever told you how stubborn you can be?"_

"_Some have tried, but I don't believe they really did me justice."_

.-.-.-.

.-.-.-.

"_I've apologized already. I'm not doing it again."_

"_How dare you! Where do you get off taking that sort of attitude with me after you just… you just…"_

"_I just stepped on a dandelion, Shin."_

_"'Just stepped on a dandelion,' you say… When did you become such a cold blooded murderer! Next you'll be convincing yourself those human beings we have sworn to protect are just slabs of meat waiting to be butchered!"_

_"I don't think I heard you right. Repeat that one more time, will you?"_

"_Now, don't look at me like that! It's true, you know. If you can take the life of another living thing so callously, what's to stop you from raising it to the next level and becoming indifferent to the annihilation of your own species! Tell me, what!"_

"_Dammit,__what has gotten into you, Shin?"_

"_Mannen… Mannen, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." _

"_Just tell me what's going on."_

_"You know, I can hear plants, see their souls, and on some level, I share feelings and emotions with them. Recently, so many of them have been in so much pain, so many are dying painful deaths as Fenril mercilessly drains all their Leafe. I just couldn't take another casualty…"_

"_Let's bury it."_

_"What?"_

"_You heard me. If we give it a proper burial, the dandelion's spirit will be able to rest in peace, correct?"_

"…"

"_Don't just stand there grinning like some drunken fool. Start digging."_

_"You can be so weird sometimes, Mannen. Really…"_

.-.-.-.

.-.-.-.

"_Mannen?"_

"_What's up?"_

"_I don't really know…"_

"_And you expect me to know?"_

"_I've just been thinking lately… How can we be sure we're really the good guys fighting against evil? What if it's the other way around? What if we're the ones who are really on the wrong side and just don't know it?"_

"_Well, what side do you believe you might be on?"_

"_I just really don't know these days… What do you think?"_

"_Me? I like to believe that we're the ones who're right, but I have to admit I'm a bit biased. "_

"_That's just it! We just can't really know for sure!"_

"_That could be true."_

"_**Could** be?"_

_"It's all in the way you perceive it, Sasame. There will always be some uncertainty in life, the true nature of good and evil just being one example. Most wars are started because of different ideas of justice and injustice."_

"_I don't want to guess… I want to **know.**"_

_"You'll get used to the idea eventually. Nowadays, that's what growing up is all about: learning how to swallow all the crap life decides to dump on your plate with a smile."_

"_So are all adults such masochists like that?"_

"_Just think of it like modern-day chivalry."_

.-.-.-.

.-.-.-.

"_I finally broke it off."_

"_Why?"_

"_Because I was falling in love with her."_

"_Isn't that supposed to happen under the circumstances?"_

"_No, because then I would be tempted to drag her into my- this life, this world. I wouldn't wish that on anyone."_

"_Why did you say yes in the first place then?"_

"_I was being selfish. I wanted someone who needed me, not the Knight of Light, and I thought that might make some of this pain a little more bearable. Somehow, though, it ended up hurting both of us badly in the end. Ironic, isn't it?"_

_"Kei…"_

"_I think she cried."_

.-.-.-.

.-.-.-.

"_I know you're there, Hayate. Come out and talk."_

"_Shut up!"_

"_Ooh, touchy, aren't we? Stop pouting and face your problems, kid."_

"_Go away! What do you know!"_

"_More than you give me credit for, and that's just the reason why I'm not backing down now."_

"_You think you're some mind reader? Some god damn fortune teller! Well, you're not, and you don't have any idea what I'm going through!"_

"_You're right. I can't see the future, or what the hell's going on in that crazy head of yours, but I do know one thing. You're human. Humans make mistakes. It's just a fact of life."_

"_Leafe Knights **can't **make mistakes. One small slip-up at the wrong time and that's it. I'd be dead, you'd be dead, and every single living thing that ever existed could be dead in seconds! I don't want that, Mannen. I don't want it…" _

"_Did you ever consider why seven Leafe Knights exist to protect the Pretear, instead of just one?"_

"_Well… um…"_

"_If one Knight fails to carry out his duty, there will always be another comrade beside him to pick up the slack. Just like today when you were trapped in the tentacles of that demon larva. Sasame was right there to save you, and everything turned out just fine."_

"_I don't need to be protected! I'm not some baby!"_

"_I never said you were."_

"…"

"_You're turning fourteen in a couple of weeks, isn't that right?" _

"_Yeah…"_

"_Wow, you sure are getting old there, kiddo."_

"_If I'm old, what does that make you, Mannen? The living dead?"_

.-.-.-.

.-.-.-.

Those times weren't his anymore. Before he had even realized what he was doing, he had up and given them away, almost as if he had wrapped up the wrong birthday present and only found out his mistake when that present was torn open right in front of him. He could only hope that they would be taken care of by the others who still had them, treasured like the freedom they represent, that they could someday lead to. But now that they were gone, there was room inside him for something else; something far more sinister, and it made him feel more grounded than he had ever felt, even more than when his feet were still touching the grass.

Inevitability must have been pretty damn tired of waiting. The vehemence behind the force of its poisonous fangs left no possible way of mistaking its intentions, no way of doubting the outcome.

_Hajime…_

Mannen felt rather than heard the blood splatter above him, dyeing the tips of his hair a violent shade of death. He watched, unblinking, as a life flowed down his forehead, trickled over his nose, and dribbled relentlessly against his mouth in a thick, morbid rain. He closed that mouth tightly, holding in the last of his breath, exacting his final act of insignificant rebellion, of mourning.

Long after the burning in his lungs had thoroughly blinded him, a flash of pink accompanied by an innocent smile called out to him from the frayed edges of his memory. The image chided him softly, half-heartedly, before wrapping him up in warm, loving arms. For those few, priceless seconds, he was safe again.

Then she was gone and he found himself missing her. He missed her, but he didn't even know who the hell she was. All he knew was that he wanted to scream, to call out to her, to tell her to come back, to beg her not to leave him alone here, not now of all times. But before he could react, he found himself slipping, breaking away; forsaking his body for the comfort of nothingness.

It wasn't long before he rediscovered himself drifting along on the shores of his ancestors, picking through the lives of those before him like a child in a sandbox, molding castles out of the stray threads of time.

Destiny was there too, gliding toward him. It wasn't smiling though, but he just knew it would have been if it had had a face. He knew this because he too would have truly smiled for the first time in a long time, if only he could have remembered how.

So, when the expressionless messenger of Fate finally caught up to him and pushed him down at last, he found he was able to let himself fall; welcoming the peace that then came like the sea, washing over him, diffusing throughout him, eroding his soul to dust.

_Fin_

A/N: So, how was it? Reviews would be greatly appreciated!_  
_


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